Premiere of 'Quake': a new performance film from Alicia Radage

As part of Shape’s latest commissioning project, #ShapeSustainabilitySeason🌎, we are premiering a new filmed performance-to-camera from artist Alicia Radage.

‘Quake’ (2021) is the outcome of a six-month Arts Council England-funded project exploring the relationships between neurodivergent experience and Shamanic practice. In light of recent weather events and in the build up to next month’s COP26 conference addressing the climate crisis, the conversations opened up by Alicia’s latest work are not just timely but imperative.

A main focus of the project was exploring interspecies communication through Shamanic practice. Alicia discovered that the action of repetitively and rapidly treading ground prompted worms to come up to the surface. They call this the ‘Worm Dance.’

A hat was conceived with milliner Rosanna Gould to be worn whilst performing the dance. Attached to the hat are old iron nails taken from Alicia’s floorboards, making a sheer curtain around the body. Whilst performing the Worm Dance, the nails vibrate and jingle, transforming the hat into both costume and instrument. Performing the Worm Dance to the point of exhaustion forces the body to shake vigorously. 

Read more about the project.